I am sending an open letter to Thermo Fisher. Their response to my response to their manipulated western blot is bullying and petty. Yes, this western blot really is manipulated, it is unfair on me to say otherwise. I don't make those accusations lightly, and I have a (minor) reputation to defend.

Our panel discussions at Cell Press Symposia #CSMito2026 in Glasgow next month: - Cancer as a window into mitochondrial biology - Career challenges with @ishahjain.bsky.social & Thomas Langer - Meet Cell Press editors Register here: http://dlvr.it/TSkRZK

Surprised to discover that Thermo Fisher appears to show a fake western blot for the validation of one of their p53 antibodies. I've added a diagram to show the very similar bands. This does not appear to be one of the "published figures" but their own internal data.

Super happy to see the final version of our paper out now 🎉🎉🎉 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Proud of PhD student Rupesh @rupeshjayachandran.bsky.social and postdoc Erwan for doing really nice work on this 😊

Open and closed forms of assembled henipavirus nucleoprotein suggest structural basis of genome access

Henipavirus nucleoprotein assemblies exist in different conformations, indicating temporary release of genome for RNA synthesis.

science.org

Max Renner@maxrenner.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Our new preprint is out 🥳🥳🥳 Henipaviruses, like Nipah and Hendra, package their genomes inside helical shells built by thousands of nucleoproteins. These nucleocapsids are essential to protect the viral RNA, but how do they ever let the polymerase in to read the sequence? 👇

⚡️We are excited to share a new paper from the lab by @drkhole.bsky.social in @cp-cellrepmethods.bsky.social - suggesting MitoTracker dyes are not a reliable tool for detecting intercellular mitochondrial transfer❗️ www.cell.com/cell-reports...

MitoTracker transfers from astrocytes to neurons independently of mitochondria

The mitochondrial dye MitoTracker is commonly used to investigate intercellular mitochondrial transfer (IMT), particularly between astrocytes and neurons. Hole et al. compare MitoTracker with a geneti...

cell.com

Happy 30th birthday, Pokémon! Since 1996, the Japanese media sensation has inspired generations of researchers in fields as diverse as evolution, biodiversity and research integrity. go.nature.com/4bcjZ9w

Pokémon turns 30 — how the fictional pocket monsters shaped science

The Japanese media sensation has inspired generations of researchers in fields as diverse as evolution, biodiversity and research integrity.

go.nature.com

'to treat peer review as a throughput problem is to misunderstand what is at stake. Review is not simply a production stage in the research pipeline; it is one of the few remaining spaces where the scientific community talks to itself.' 1/3

AI is not a peer, so it can’t do peer review

If we still believe that science is a vocation grounded in argument, curiosity and care, we can’t delegate judgement to machines, says Akhil Bhardwaj

timeshighereducation.com

The MITOscience of tomorrow is back. Three short mitochats presented by Débora Santos Rocha @deborasrocha.bsky.social , Valentin L’Hôte @valentinlhote.bsky.social and Marijana Croon @marijanacroon.bsky.social Visit mitotalks.org for zoom link details. Will you time travel with us?

We’re live! The Department of Medical Biochemistry & Biophysics at @umeauniversitet.bsky.social explores life at the molecular level: infection and structural biology, gene expression, mitochondria, neurodegeneration & biophysics for climate change. Follow for updates & collaboration! #Biochemistry

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

The EU’s Horizon research fund needs to stay a defence-free zone

It is time to sound the alarm as the EU’s research priorities face an unprecedented degree of political interference.

nature.com

A friend was offered a fantastic, five-year postdoc position at a Germany university. When the university's HR found out she is undergoing cancer treatment (with very good chances of complete recovery), they forced the PI to withdraw the offer. These stories are not uncommon from Germany. Why?

Highlights from yICSA at #ICSA2025Rome 🌍✨ ✔️Networking Social Event 🤝 ✔️Special Session with career insights from @dimiccolab.bsky.social & @narita-lab.bsky.social 🙌 Thank you to everyone who joined us! #yICSA #Senescence #ECR

I had a great time presenting my work on mtDNA replication and senescence from the @wanrooij20.bsky.social lab @umeauniversitet.bsky.social today at the #ICSA2025Rome conference, with super exciting discussions. Thanks a lot @icsasenescence.bsky.social and @yicsac.bsky.social !

www.americanscientist.org/article/%E2%... in my view the problem started when we forced basic science to be translational. this distorted it's nature and created false expectations, which in turn eroded the trust on basic science.

“Why Are We Funding This?”

Long-standing myths about “silly science” have contributed to the reckless slashing of government-supported research.

americanscientist.org

Our newest paper on mitochondrial Topoisomerase 1 shows that Top1mt has only weak endoribonuclease activity and it therefore does not often generate deletions at incorporated ribonucleotides. This helps explain why ribonucleotides are tolerated in mtDNA. Read more: academic.oup.com/nar/article-...

The low endoribonuclease activity and lack of rNMP preference of human mitochondrial topoisomerase 1 protect against ribonucleotide-dependent deletions

Abstract. The incorporation of ribonucleotides (rNMPs) into the nuclear genome leads to severe genomic instability, including strand breaks and short 2–5 b

academic.oup.com

On a road trip from Umeå (SE) to Rokua (FI) to attend the #Mitochondria Summer School this week!

Amazing to be back at @univ-larochelle.fr today to talk about #mtDNA, #senescence and #cancer at @umrlienss.bsky.social and have exciting discussions! Going back to Sweden tomorrow, but I hope to return to La Rochelle soon.

Two mtDNA papers of ours in one PNAS issue: #1 on the Y951N patient mutation of PolG, heroically spear-headed by Josefin Forslund #2 revealing surprising dNTP imbalance & subsequent mtDNA depletion in RRM2B-deficient mice, a great collaboration with the Chabes lab www.pnas.org/toc/pnas/122...

Good science from Josefin Forslund and our team: The POLγ Y951N patient mutation disrupts the switch between DNA synthesis and proofreading, triggering mitochondrial DNA instability | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Hello fellow mitochondriacs! Are you passionate about mtDNA? We now offer a 2-year postdoc opportunity for studies of mtDNA instability and its signaling. Apply by May 18th to join our international team in exotic Umeå. Please share! www.umu.se/en/work-with...

Postdoctoral fellowship (2 years) to study mitochondrial DNA stability

umu.se

#StarterPack for the #Mitochondria research community! Very much a work in progress, comment below/reach out to be added! #Mito #Mitochondriac go.bsky.app/J6Bu5fL

Exclusive: The U.S. Department of Defense is gutting a landmark project designed to fund social science research with important implications for national security. scim.ag/41qhiuO

Pentagon guts national security program that harnessed social science

Dozens of U.S. academics lose grants from Minerva program for studies related to terrorism, drug trafficking, and other threats

scim.ag